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16 February 2023 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Anja Aucamp
Samson Diamond, Jeanne-Louise Moolman, Prof Anmari van der Westhuizen-Joubert, and Sharon de Kock with the QoP instruments created by luthier Brian Lisus to honour SA’s Nobel peace laureates.

Hope, the viola; Freedom, the first violin; Peace, the second violin; and Reconciliation, the cello, collectively known as the Quartet of Peace (QoP), have found their home at the UFS. The Odeion String Quartet (OSQ) has been made the custodians of this world-famous quartet created by Brian Lisus. The instruments were created by Lisus in 2010 to commemorate the four Nobel peace laureates of South Africa, namely Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, and Desmond Tutu. In March 2022, Lisus presented a lecture in the Odeion Theatre to officially present these instruments to the UFS.

Many new performing opportunities 

“The trustees found that justice will be done by making the Odeion String Quartet the new custodians, since they are the only quartet-in-residence at a South African university,” says Prof Anmari van der Westhuizen-Joubert, cellist and Head of the OSQ.

As the custodians of the QoP, it brought many new performing opportunities, both nationally and internationally. “It can also be used in presentations of lectures on all subjects and not only of a political nature. In this way, string quartet music reaches more people than just those who go to concert halls,” Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert says. The OSQ consists of Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert (cellist), Samson Diamond (violinist and leader of the string quartet), Sharon de Kock (violinist), and Jeanne-Louise Moolman (violinist).

Unique part of UFS identity

The uniqueness of the QoP instruments will be an important element of the OSQ, the Odeion School of Music, the Faculty of the Humanities, as well as the entire UFS community. “One of the plans is to raise money to enable students to come and study with the Odeion String Quartet members at the UFS,” Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert says. Another historic moment with these instruments took place in October 2022, when the instruments took centre stage at a concert hosted by Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. At this event, the QoP instruments were introduced to the public, important stakeholders, and to guests of the UFS. Other plans include trips to international festivals such as the Ojai Music Festival in the USA in 2023 and the String Quartet Biennale in Amsterdam in 2024.

*This article  first appeared in the Bult Magazine.

News Archive

Full accreditation for MBA programme
2004-12-01

The University of the Free State (UFS) this week received full accreditation for its MBA-programme from the Council on Higher Education (CHE). The accreditation was granted after the programme was conditionally accredited earlier this year.

“The full accreditation serves as proof that the key elements of a good teaching programme are in place. After the programme received conditional accreditation, a few areas were addressed and a progress report was submitted to the CHE. This was followed by a site visit by a delegation from the CHE. We are happy about the successful outcome of the accreditation process,” said Prof Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS’s School of Management.

“In the initial evaluation done by the CHE it was already mentioned that the UFS’s MBA-programme clearly and significantly contributes to students’ knowledge and skills, is relevant for the workplace and appropriately resourced. Now we can build on the further extension of the quality of the programme,” said Prof van Zyl.

“We welcome the CHE’s accreditation process. It confirms and protects the integrity of the group of high quality MBA-programmes in South Africa,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The UFS’s online MBA-programme will only be evaluated next year because the CHE is still in the process of developing criteria for the on-line programmes of tertiary institutions.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
7 December 2004

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